3 more questions for the author of Nights in Rodanthe
He told us everything; he left so much unsaid.
I became more intrigued just as he was jetting off to catch a plane, and the group interview with Nicholas Sparks, author of the book, Nights in Rodanthe, (and The Notebook
Sparks cited Dickens’ famous sentence in literature, “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times,” as the epitome of literary efficiency. “I would be considered lightly edited,” Sparks says, because “one of the tenets under which I write is efficiency… efficiency is incredibly important to develop in quality literature.”
He told us everything.
When asked how he is able to write such well-rounded female characters, he said, “I have not the slightest idea.” Although he does have a standard group of answers, all true: “I had a wonderful mother. I married very well. All of the most important people in my life at the present time and throughout my publishing career have been women.”
He also told us how he writes half of a novel, and sends this to his agent, a creating writing major, who does a pretty significant line edit. “She suggests deletions of passages.” From there, the book goes to his editor, “who fills in story gaps.” And if you’re wondering about timing, “I could do, for most of the vast majority of my books, a total editing process of less than 24 working hours.” His first book was the same.
He sold pharmaceuticals, but didn’t want to do this for the rest of his life. He had a wife, kids and a mortgage, and wasn’t interested in climbing the corporate ladder. “So, I asked, what can I do in my spare time and chase my dream and try to make it? What could I conceivable do?” He had already written two novels, one at 19 and one at 22. “So when I sat down at 28 I said Okay, I’m going to give myself three chances to write a novel and if I don’t succeed, then I’ll know I’m not cut out to be a writer.”
The first novel, which he wrote over a six month period, was The Notebook
What He Left Unsaid.
Sparks’ book, Three Weeks with My Brother
“By the time I went it felt almost as it it was a burden to go. And that is a shame because that reflects an imbalance in your life. And to correct that imbalance took time.”
The answers to the puzzle of how Sparks corrected that imbalance can be found in his book, Three Weeks with My Brother. So, Mr. Sparks, what new revelations can you share with us as the book left your heart? A book that was difficult to write, because of the challenge of “reliving experiences that I’d rather not get emotionally close to again,” he said. “There were tragedies that struck my family and I needed to go back to those places, to put you back there.”
After he admitted he will take such a trip again, he was asked, “Has your wife taken a similar trip?” No, he said. “Does she plan to?” Sparks said, “Maybe not three weeks, but without question, she will.”
Will there be a Three Weeks With My Brother Part II? Still, I”m left wondering, why isn’t his wife taking a three week trip, reaping the benefits of the lesson her husband learned about correcting imbalances in one’s life?
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Do you think it is because she, like so many of us women, just can’t justify the time away at this point of her life? I mean, aren’t we always the ones who put the “balance” on the back burner? For me, even though I am always told that “finding a balance” is so important, there just isn’t time to research, adjust and figure it out. You just do what you need to do when you need to do it. And, in the end, I suppose everything is “balanced.”
I don’t know, Susie, you make me get so introspective!!
But are the books actually any good?
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